The Legend of Watermelon

The Servants of the ancient King Gagik noticed a mysterious horned snake by the palace. The king’s servants cut the snake’s horns and thus saved it. In gratitude, the next day the snake brought a seed and left it by the palace. Soon, a strange big fruit grew from the seed. The servants decided to test the unknown fruit and offered it to an old man on the verge of death. A miracle occurred and the old man not only recovered, but felt stronger than he ever had. The king tried the natural medicine next and found that he, too, felt quite fortified. Since that day, Armenians call the gift from the grateful snake “Not-Die” or “Chmerook” in their language, though with the passage of time the “ch” became a “ts” or “dz”. Thus, the watermelon is called a tsmeroug or dzmerook.